SIBYL SOPHIA FLORAL DESIGN IS A LOS ANGELES BASED FLORAL STUDIO FOUNDED BY SOPHIE BALLMER

"I am inspired by the personal connections I build with my clients and my designs are driven by the moments these flowers will create for them."

As a child, I spent my summers in Valle Crucis, North Carolina. There, nestled in the heart of the valley, my Grandparents ran a large inn and restaurant. My summers were filled with fields of wildflowers, raspberry jam simmering on the stove, feeding apples to the donkey, and gardening with my grandparents. My grandmother grew rows of flowers, for drying and arranging, and had over 100 varieties of day lilies. Right before dinner, she would send me into the garden to pick the prettiest ones.

At the same time, I was always creating and crafting, encouraged by my parents, both children's theatre directors, I loved taking different materials and seeing what I could build. I loved art and crafting, but, to be honest, my work wasn’t that good. I remember wondering why everyone else’s art looked so different from, and better than, mine. But while everyone else grew out of arts and crafts, I didn’t. I kept at it, and while my work still didn’t look like everyone else's, it became something that was truly me and others appreciated.

Four years ago, I found myself following the man I loved to Los Angeles. After a series of creative and odd jobs, I landed the position of Hospitality Coordinator at a downtown tech startup. The job gave me the chance to combine my creativity with experience I had gained starting and running a Bed and Breakfast with my mother in Iowa (which is another story!).

One day, I offered to pick up flowers and arrange them into a bouquet for my manager’s sister, who had surprised everyone by declaring that she’d be getting married at the courthouse that day. I had never met the couple, but I knew it was a day they would always remember and I wanted the little details to be there for them. A few days after the courthouse ceremony, the bride emailed me to ask if I would do the flowers for their wedding celebration! I said yes!

Over the next six months, I planned their florals, ordered succulents, took classes, and practiced at home. The day before the wedding I worked so hard, at times wondering if I’d gotten in over my head. I finally finished the arrangements at 3:30 AM. The next morning I packed the car and drove to the venue. When the bride saw her wedding bouquet she started to cry tears of joy. At that moment, I thought . . . “maybe I can do this.”

After a year of going to the flower market before work, arranging at night and doing weddings on the weekend, I left my job to take my floral business full time. With the encouragement of my partner, I bought a floral fridge, turned our garage into a studio, and started Sibyl Sophia Floral Design. I arrange with intention and I try to find the perfect spot for every bloom. I draw influence from every part of my life, from the freedom of my Grandmother’s garden, the whimsy of crafting and children’s theatre, and the grace and hospitality of the bed and breakfast. I am inspired by the personal connections I build with my clients and my designs are driven by the moments these flowers will create for them.

TESTIMONIALS

"I AM SOOOO THANKFUL I FOUND SOPHIE"

Sophie was amazing!! We got married in October this year and as a bride, I was so nervous about the flowers bc I am not familiar with flowers (at all). I am SOOOO thankful I found Sophie because all I had to do was share a few pictures of "ideas/design", my budget, and style of the wedding and she followed up within a day or two with gorgeous design ideas and believe it or not - under my budget! Sophie is truly wonderful!

— A.B.

"I'M STILL SMILING THINKING ABOUT MY AMAZING BOUQUET"

AH! I'm still smiling thinking about my amazing bouquet and all of the floral wonder Sophie made happen at our wedding! She was such a pleasure to work with from the very beginning, even providing helpful suggestions on how to bring the cost down on certain items. I let her know my vision, likes, and dislikes, and she totally ran with it! I loved everything she did, from my hair piece to the hanging tree garland she created. She's artistic and talented and is totally worth every penny!

— C.N.

"SOPHIE IS TRULY AN ARTIST"

Sophie was great to work with! I met with her in person for a consultation and I immediately knew that she was the person for the job. I was up front about our budget for florals and she was able to work with it. I did not know much about florals and only had a general idea of the kind of vibe I was looking for. Sophie was able to take my vague vision for florals and turn it into a rustic masterpiece. She was even flexible enough to help put together a last minute escort board garland, which turned out to be a hit! Sophie was super quick to reply to any questions and changes that I requested. She was also very organized. Sophie is truly an artist!

— J.K.

"THE PERFECT MIX OF SUCCULENTS, GREENERY AND FLOWERS"

Sophie is honestly a floral genius and was so easy to work with. I originally didn't want to do flowers at all because I was trying to keep wedding costs low and our venue (Madera Kitchen) has so much greenery around already but my coordinator and mom convinced me to do something for the dinner tables, so they didn't look too bare. Sophie created the perfect mix of succulents, greenery and flowers and it was absolutely gorgeous. My guests were obsessed and they were insanely thrilled to be able to take the succulents and centerpieces home afterwards as wedding favors. Sophie also provided some cake decorations that looked amazing. I highly recommend working with Sophie!

— A.G

“I CAN"T RECOMMEND HER WORK HIGHLY ENOUGH!"

I had struggled to find a great florist since moving to Los Angeles two years ago until I tried Sibyl Sophia Floral Design. Sophie's arrangement are tasteful, beautiful, and very reasonably priced. No matter what your floral needs--an arrangement or bouquet for a loved one, floral design for an event--you will find no one better in Los Angeles than Sibyl Sophia. I can't recommend her work highly enough!

— J.C.

"I'D RECOMMEND HER FOR ANY EVENT"

Her work is amazing! My fiancé and I hired her to recently do our wedding florals and they were gorgeous. Sophie is extremely attentive, kind, down to earth and is more than accommodating. I'd recommend her for any event.

— V.O.

“TRULY BEAUTIFUL AND UNIQUE.”

Sophie did the flowers for my wedding, and I couldn't have been happier with the results! I had no plan at all, other than knowing I wanted roses and giving Sophie a vague approximation of the colors I wanted. Sophie discussed my vision with me, asked insightful questions, brainstormed with me, and had tons of ideas. She found native accents and greens to add to the roses to make my bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages and floral arrangements truly beautiful and unique. She created the exact look and feel that I imagined.

— H.H.J.

"I WOULD HIRE HER AGIAN IN A HEARTBEAT"

Sophie's work speaks for itself. I had the pleasure of working with her for my wedding florals, and everything she did was absolutely stunning. Not having much knowledge about specific flowers myself, I gave Sophie an overall idea of my vision and color scheme, and she went above and beyond with execution. Everything from the bouquets to the arch to the cake was better than I had imagined. She is prompt, professional, and extremely patient with last minute requests/changes, but most importantly she is extremely talented, creative, and just such a sweetheart. I would hire her again in a heartbeat for any event!